• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.423-434
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate preservice earth science teachers' mental models through applications of Coriolis force experiment apparatus. After the root of preconception was examined by face to face interviews based on the questionnaire, five preservice earth science teachers were finally selected for this study. The mental models about concept of Coriolis force was classified into naive mental model, static unstable mental model, dynamic unstable mental model, and scientific mental model through the result of individual interviews and their drawings. According to the mental model analysis about Coriolis' force conception, students C and M showed naive mental model about concept of Coriolis force before experiment. After the experiment, student M's model changed to static unstable mental model. Student C's model improved to dynamic unstable mental model. In adiition, students D and O's model improved from static unstable mental model to dynamic unstable mental model. In the case of student B, the dynamic unstable mental model was maintained after the experiment, however, student B's preconception changed to scientific concept. It turned out that a change occurred from low mental model level to integrated mental model after the application of the developed Coriolis' force experiment apparatus. According to the results, national curriculum is similar to static unstable mental model and the result of developed Coriolis' force experiment apparatus is similar to dynamic unstable mental model. It is suggested that it become the theoretical foundation to develop more comfortable and advanced Coriolis force experiment apparatus by improving the experiment apparatus.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.787-798
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• 2009

A new apparatus was presented in order to help understand the concept of the Coriolis force which is essential in understanding the trajectories of the atmospheric current and the tide of seawater. In the apparatus proposed in high-school textbooks, since the slide from which the ball is released is set outside the rotating disk, it was not possible to interpret, with the trajectory of the ball on the disk, the motion of the atmosphere and the current of seawater occurring as a result of the Coriolis force. In order to resolve such problem, a new apparatus was developed in which the slide was set on the disk and rotated with the disk. Experiments were carried out using both the existing apparatus and the new apparatus, and the results were compared. While, in the experiment performed with the existing apparatus, it was difficult to analyze the trajectory of ball because the motion of the ball was not smooth when it hit the disk, in the experiment with the new apparatus it was much easier to analyze the trajectories. It was also possible to compare the trajectories when the initial velocity of the ball was varied.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.88-94
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• 2010

A simple laboratory device and methodology are developed for deep understanding of the western boundary current (WBC). The apparatus consists of a rotating (count-clockwise) rectangular tank with a sloping bottom in order to simulate the beta effect, the variation of the Coriolis parameter with latitude. We also used a clockwise rotating disk at the surface water to mimic the wind stress forcing in mid-latitude oceans. Four experiments were carried out using some combination of a bottom type and a rotation of the tank. Experiment with the beta effect clearly demonstrated the WBClike flow as well as the Sverdrup interior. However, the water in a tank gave rise to an inertial motion under the influence of a constant Coriolis force alone. We also discussed a stiffening of the rotating fluid on the basis of the Taylor-Proudman effect. We believe that the apparatus and methods developed in this study help to understand the WBC due to the beta effect.